The 112 members of the New Mexico House of Representatives and Senate will return to the Roundhouse on Wednesday for a special session that will concentrate on legislation to deal with the expected cuts in federal funding to the state.
Last month, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, D-NM, announced she would use the authority granted to her under the state Constitution to call lawmakers back to Santa Fe for a special session on Oct. 1, as proposed budget cuts, expiration of tax credits to help individuals afford health insurance and possible cuts in food assistance programs and public broadcasting are expected.
Under the Constitution of the state of New Mexico, a special session called by the governor can last up to 30 days, but lawmakers expect this session to be fairly quick.
“It’s two to three days max,” House Minority Floor Leader Reena Szczepanski, D-Santa Fe, said about the expected length of the special session.
Senate Majority Floor Whip Michael Padilla, D-Albuquerque, said he believes the session will last until late Thursday or Friday.
“I’m guessing we’ll try to plow through the Senate bills as quickly as possible so we can get into committees that afternoon, and then we will have either final action that evening or Thursday,” he said. Padilla added that bills that pass either the House or the Senate will then be sent to the other legislative chamber for action.
Items expected
The session was called as the state braces for a series of reductions in federal funds, such as provisions related to the Reconciliation Bill signed by President Donald Trump, which include changes to Medicaid.
According to the Legislative Finance Committee, nearly 38% of the state’s population is on Medicaid. Under the Reconciliation Bill, the state is expected to lose $513 million in federal revenue for Medicaid, and it will cost the state $57 million from its General Fund. Because of new medicaid work requirements, an estimated 83,000 New Mexicans are projected to lose Medicaid coverage.
Expanded federal tax credits for healthcare purchased by individuals on the healthcare exchange are also set to expire at year’s end.
On Tuesday, a total of five bills were filed ahead of the special session, of which three were posted on the Legislative website. Those included a fix to the criminal competency bill that passed earlier this year during the regular 60-day legislative session. The amendment to the bill states that a metropolitan court can retain jurisdiction in a case where a defendant is found to be competent.
Two others deal with vaccination and healthcare. One of those adds $17 million to the state’s Healthcare Affordability Fund. The Fund was established in 2021 to provide subsidies for households making under 400% of the Federal Poverty Level. Senate Majority Floor Leader Peter Wirth, D-Santa Fe, said the legislation also removes the 400% of the Federal Poverty Limit cap for those who can receive assistance under the program. Wirth said that it is hoped that New Mexicans who lose Medicaid coverage can be covered by the Healthcare Affordability Fund.
Other legislation taken up will broaden eligibility for grants from the state’s Rural Healthcare Delivery Fund to healthcare providers and facilities in certain rural areas.
Wirth said that as part of the Reconciliation Bill, a premium tax is being phased out that allowed an additional $1 billion of Medicaid money to come into the state. He added that rural hospitals will be hit the hardest by that. To counter that, lawmakers will take up legislation in the special session that will expand eligibility for hospitals in rural areas. Currently, the fund can only be used for hospital expansions, but Wirth said one of the bills will allow for grants from the fund to be used to keep hospitals open.
Another bill that will be introduced will make a fix to the criminal competency law passed earlier this year as part of a broader crime package. That change will state that a metropolitan court can maintain jurisdiction over a case in which an individual is found competent to stand trial.
Szczepanski told New Mexico Political Report that the adjustments to vaccine policy would base rules on vaccination of school-age children, and which vaccines are covered under the state’s vaccine purchasing program would be based on recommendations from the New Mexico Department of Health, and with guidance from organizations of medical professionals, such as the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Szczepanski said that currently, it is the federal government that takes the central role in determining vaccine guidelines and schedules. But recent decisions by Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. have sparked widespread criticisms.
“Certainly, there has been a lot of rhetoric coming out of the current secretary that is not based on research that is peer-reviewed and published,” she said. Szczepanski said the legislature will ensure vaccine policy is made based on recommendations that are grounded in science.
One item that is unlikely to be on the agenda is interstate medical licensure compacts. Padilla said instead of taking them up in the special session, Senate Democrats have agreed to act on such legislation in the first 15 days of the regular 30-day session.
The compacts are viewed as part of a strategy to increase the number of doctors and other medical professionals in the state.
Lujan Grisham has floated putting the compacts in her proclamation for a special session, a move some legislators oppose, citing time constraints and the complexity involved in the subject.
“We want to make sure that these are done correctly. And there’s a lot of implications there, not just about the federal funding, but literally how they’re administered within the state,” Padilla said.